Smoking Habits
by his-little-troll
Summary: "I'm a med student who has a huge crush on the hot guy who works at the coffee shop who always gives me free drinks when I'm stressed and calls me princess, even though I pretend I think it's annoying. I'm concerned about him because he always smells like smoke so I give him lectures about how terrible cigarettes are. I may have made a PowerPoint, which is probably excessive."


Arthur waved back at his buddies as they rounded the corner, waiting until they'd disappeared from sight before he ducked into the quaint little coffee shop.

It's not that he was ashamed of going here. If Morgana found out that he was ashamed of a coffee shop, she'd probably hang him by his toe nails. And it's not that he was ashamed of why he was going.

But Merlin was special and funny and a complete ass and he was Arthur's secret and no one else was allowed to mess with Arthur about him.

So, for the moment, he checked twice before walking up to the counter.

"Oi, Arthur, you're a bit early." Merlin grinned, lip ring waggling tauntingly with its bright purple ball. "I haven't even gotten your frappe made."

"That's because I don't drink a frappe."

"Well, you could. Then you might actually enjoy your coffee." Merlin waved at the lady who took the cup from him, sticking his tongue out to her back as she tutted away. "Not everything has to be as bitter and black as your personality."

"Just because I don't go around grinning like a dope doesn't mean I'm bitter." Arthur scowled, but it was all show. He could already feel a twitch of a smile start up at the corner of his lips. "Besides, I wouldn't drink your caramel java chip cinnamon drizzle whatever sugar concoction if you paid me."

"Well, that's good then, because I'm afraid you're still doing the paying." Merlin called back Arthur's order, not bothering to check if it was correct or not. Expresso Macchiato. "That drink is horrible, and I have no idea why you get it, but at least it's quick to make." Merlin grinned at him again and Arthur was sure that one day he would steal that ridiculous purple ball and replace it with something red.

"It's coffee Merlin, it's not supposed to rot your teeth."

"Yes it is." Merlin leaned over the counter, taking the steaming cup and stretching it out to Arthur. It read, in big black marker, Princess. "Of course, not when you're you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arthur laughed, showing off his white teeth. "I don't think your manager would like your tone."

"I think I am my manager." Merlin waved his fingers.

"Whatever, Merlin." Arthur laughed, feeling his toes curl in at the waft of tobacco and burned paper smell that rolled off the other man's pale fingertips. It left a comforted, warm feeling in his chest and an anxious buzzing in his head. "No offense, Merlin, but you may want to slow down on the cancer sticks, yeah?"

"Don't smoke, mate." Merlin gave him a salute and walked off, lips puckered into a frown.

Except, Arthur knew that smell. He had that smell on a dark leather jacket in his entryway. He had grown up with that smell smothering down his demons in big hugs and the white curl of smoke over his ears when he'd looked over Gaius's shoulders. He remembered that smell on yellowed fingertips as they pushed loose-leaf tobacco into long pipes and the warm comfort of smoke rings. There was no way Merlin smelled like that and didn't smoke.

Arthur took a bit longer on his coffee that morning, sipping over it and looking occasionally in Merlin's direction.

He never went out for a smoke break, but that smell lingered even on the coffee cup.

It was about the time he realized he was trying to discreetly sniff a paper cup that he scurried away, blushing and confused.

For the first time in three years, Arthur took out the jacket from the closet and buried his nose in it, breathing in deeply.

It smelled like childhood tears and stories of dragons round the nightlight. It smelled like the deep comfort of careful hands bandaging his scrapes and bruises. It smelled like Gaius, before the COPD and the hospital beds. It smelled like what Arthur always thought fathers smelled like.

The next day, Arthur didn't go out with his friends first. He was several hours early, and Merlin was surprised to see him.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize." Arthur closed his eyes when Merlin started to accept. "But I know what I smell, and you definitely smell like smoke." He squinted through his lashes to see Merlin with his arms crossed, cheeks slightly pink.

"Are you trying to tell me you've sniffed me, Arthur Pendragon?" Merlin furrowed his brow. "Because, I mean, it's certainly a bit weird to do that, but I'm not going to pretend I'm not flattered."

"I didn't sniff you, Merlin." Arthur frowned, stuffing his hands in his pockets as someone harrumphed behind him. "I just happened to smell it as you were handing me my cup yesterday. You reek of it."

Merlin's mouth dropped open, his ears burning pink now. "I do not reek."

"I didn't mean reek! It's just that you smell quite strongly of smoke, and I'm just concerned is all."

"Arthur, you're being ridiculous." Merlin's lips parted in what looked suspiciously like a smile. "You don't need to be concerned. Is that why you keep coming in here?"

"No." Arthur ran his hands through his hair. This was not going how he'd planned. Which, well, he hadn't planned, but it wasn't going well and he'd at least hoped it would go well. "You make really good espressos?'

"Not hardly. That drink is the most horrid thing on my menu." Merlin waved another worker over and started to take off his apron. "Come on now, we're getting breakfast. And I'm not going to smoke a single cigarette."

He must have read Arthur's panicked expression because his smile softened, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "Don't worry, it's not a date. Just me proving a point."

"Yeah, sure, ok."

Except, he'd misread, because Arthur wasn't afraid of going on a date. No, no. Arthur was afraid of this date. His friends were going to catch him and then they'd all know about Merlin and they'd all want Merlin and he wasn't ready to share yet. He'd never get a word edge-wise. They'd find him adorable and Gwaine would fall in love with those lips instantly and Elyan, gods, Elyan would love those hands and either one of them would be able to make Merlin smile without insulting him. And Merlin would start writing Princess on Lance's cup because Lance would say something cute and romantic like "Only yours" or something less corny that Arthur couldn't think of. All Arthur did was pretend to get mad. Why did he always pretend to get mad?

"Arthur?"

He wasn't always that mad. He liked Merlin's jokes.

"Arthur, are you ok?" Merlin snapped a finger in front of Arthur's face.

Arthur thought, for the briefest second, that he saw a spark fly from Merlin's fingertip but when he blinked there was only the briefest twist of smoke. "Was that smoke?"

"Just a little trick I do."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, but said nothing of it. At least he wasn't hurtling down the path to a panic attack any more. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Well, I hear there's a pancake place—"

"Let's go the other way." Arthur scrunched his nose. "Not in the mood for pancakes. Or anything in that direction."

Merlin quirked an eyebrow, rolling the lip ring against his teeth. "Ok, fine. You pick, then. But I'm a vegetarian, so best be something good."

"Oi, are you always difficult with everything?"

"Absolutely, yes." Merlin laughed, blue eyes shining. "So, you're better get over that."

Arthur took a deep breath and headed down the opposite direction of the hospital. All his friends were interning there, so if he avoided that area, he should be able to avoid bumping in to anyone.

Ten minutes later he was heading into the first shop that looked remotely like a breakfast place.

"I thought you weren't interested in pancakes?"

"Well, they sell… other things." Arthur frowned at the curly-lettered menu and the bright colors. "I've never been here before."

Merlin raised an eyebrow again before taking a seat. "Yeah, well, look at that. They have pancakes! Lucky you, pancakes are totally vegetarian." He winked and waited for Arthur to look over the menu.

Arthur felt his cheeks burn red and frowned. Was it rude to order meat items when dining with a vegetarian? He wasn't even hungry. "I'll get the eggs?"

"Whatever you want. Take as long as you need." Merlin let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair.

The scent of smoke filled the air, but Arthur was at a loss to why. "Are you certain you don't smoke?"

"I get accused of it a lot, would you imagine?" Merlin chuckled. "But no, I don't."

"Do you live with someone who smokes?" Arthur frowned.

"Been living on my own for a long time now. So no." There was a pause as Merlin pressed his lips together, eyes closing briefly. When he parted his lips again it was to let out a wavering dark ring. "Little trick I taught myself."

Arthur gaped, glancing at each hand thrumming over the wood table. "That can't be healthy."

Merlin laughed loudly this time, head thrown back. A tattoo, something dark and indecipherable, peeked out from the cut of his shirt. "It's just a trick, Arthur, no worries."

"No, I mean it. I'm a med student, my father has owned his own private facilities since I was a toddler, and I'm telling you that that can't possibly be healthy," Arthur leaned over the table, ignoring the cute waitress that had wandered over beside them. "How did you do that?"

"Look, how about this. If we enjoy this date," Merlin smiled when Arthur paled, "or not date, whatever, then I will explain it to you over dinner tomorrow. At my house."

"That would definitely be a date." Arthur grinned, still ignoring the woman who was beginning to tap her foot beside them.

"Yes, dinner would certainly be a date." Merlin chuckled, handing the woman his menu. "But you'd have to impress me first."

After they'd ordered their food and received their drinks, Arthur found it quite easy to be impressed.

He wasn't sure, in his fumbling and scowling and too-loud laughing, if he was being impressive at all, though.

They talked about Merlin's coffee shop and how he'd come to own it after his sister, Freya, had passed away. It had set a tightness to Merlin's shoulders and bit of a shine to his eyes, but he'd smiled a bit and moved the conversation forward, asking about Arthur's classes and how Uther had determined he'd have to carry on the family clinic. When Arthur mentioned Gaius and how he'd spurred Arthur on to greater schools with textbooks and hand-me-down tricks to help the poorer families (Samples are your best friend, my boy. Always have plenty and never use them sparingly.)

They spoke so long that it was a shock when Merlin's phone let out a shrill ring in the quiet restaurant. He picked it up and immediately his eyes went wide.

"Oh my god, Arthur, it's noon." Merlin threw money on the table and flashed him a smile. "I've got to get back the shop before my barista kills me."

"Well, at least she can't fire you."

"That is true." Merlin paused, turning back to Arthur chasing him to the sidewalk. "What about dinner?"

Arthur had only opened his mouth to speak when he heard an unmistakable voice.

"Aye there, Princess."

Arthur's back went rigid, his face pinching up in agitation. "God no."

"Gwaine?" Merlin looked between Arthur and Gwaine and slapped his palm to his forehead. "Oh no. You're that Arthur."

"The one and only." Gwaine laughed obnoxiously loud and clapped Arthur on the shoulder. "I should have known that tall, blond and gorgeous was Princess."

"You two know each other?"

Merlin was red from his neck to his ears as he nodded. "May have met a few times."

"He was my roommate my entire first semester. The damned school wouldn't let me stay in the on-site dorms." Gwaine looked between them. "Didn't take either of you for the shy types. What's all this sneaking around?"

"Well, Gwaine—"

"You kind of have this way—"

Both of them stopped, giving each other knowing glances.

Gwaine scoffed at them, eyebrows raised high. "Come on, now. I'd not have gone after either of you, you're both to smitten for my taste."

Arthur groaned and rubbed his hand over his face. "Please, please, just let this conversation be over."

Merlin winked and begun to hurry away. "I'll finish talking with you over dinner tomorrow, Arthur." And then he bounded off with a whistle and laugh.

"You're never going to hear the end of this, mate." Gwaine steered him towards the school.

"Gwaine, shut up."

"No," Gwaine sung it out, sounding far too happy. "Wait until I tell Lance you're the Princess Merlin has been chattering on about. And even better- wait until I tell Morgana where you've been sneaking off to. This is going to be a hoot."

"I hate you." Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to think of reasons not to throttle his long time best friend. "I mean it. Deep, burning hatred."

"It could always be worse, Arthur. I could have gotten pictures." Gwaine stopped for a moment, his smile growing impossibly wider. "I suppose, for a small fee, I could avoid telling them until after tomorrow night."

"What fee?"

Arthur spent that night doing Gwaine's homework. It was easy enough, since Gwaine was a year behind and taking classes he had already passed. It still took hours to make the power points from Gwaine's jumbled notes and make sure they were just good enough for it to be believable that Gwaine had done them himself.

After Arthur had finished, he'd taken the USB drive and turned it around a few times in his fingers, considering.

Then he'd copied it, cleaned it up some, and put a second USB drive in his jacket pocket, writing Merlin's name on the label.

It couldn't hurt, probably.

It might.

But maybe not.  
***

The next morning, Arthur slid into the coffee shop late. Merlin was swooping through the kitchen gracefully, blending and stirring and mixing drinks with ease. He glanced up, gave sort of a relieved smile to Arthur, and began making his drink.

"I'm a bit busy now, but give me a second and I'll write down an address and a time for you." Merlin's shoulders stretched under his black shirt and his red apron shifted as he reached for a clean cup. Arthur watched him and waited.

"Does dinner really need to be at your house?"

"Of course. Unless you have a good stock of vegetarian foods waiting at your place?"

Arthur frowned and Merlin nodded.

"Didn't think so. Besides, I think you'll like my place." Merlin tilted his head and stuck a cup under the espresso machine. "It's nice and cozy."

"Right, of course." Arthur tried to smile back, but he could feel panic building up in his chest. "Right."

Merlin didn't look up as he jotted down a messy line of letters and number and wrapped it around the cup. "Here you go. Sorry, you came in at rush hour."

Arthur smiled, accepting his coffee. He grinned even wider when he saw the word Princess scrawled across the side. "Wouldn't want to keep you. Just one thing, Merlin?"

"Yeah?" Merlin leaned over the counter, eyes following a lady who was mumbling by the sugar and stir sticks.

Arthur's heart thumped heavy in his chest, but he pulled Merlin forward into a kiss anyway.

It was like breathing in smooth smoke, without the bitter sting of fire to scratch his throat. Merlin responded easily, lips soft and sweet and slow over his.

It was short lived, but when Arthur opened his eyes, it was to Merlin biting his lips with a pink cheeked smile.

"Dunno what I did to deserve that, Princess, but I'll be sure to do it more often."

"You taste like smoke." Arthur murmured, eyes half-lidded. "It's not unpleasant, actually."

"I think you're really going to like my house." Merlin nudged him back. "It'll put your mind at ease. Maybe."

If this had been a corny romance movie, the customers might have clapped or something, but as it was, this wasn't a corny romance movie, and so instead a grumpy old man rolled his eyes and tapped on the counter with a loud harrumph.

"Best get on with it then. See you soon."

Arthur tried really hard to do his homework. He really did.

But he was busy remembering the feel of Merlin's lips on his, the way he'd tasted and smelled and moved. So when it came to the time on the napkin he had absolutely no work done and was instead turning the USB over in his pocket in front of Merlin's flat.

Which was actually in a really nice part of town, in a cozy complex that Uther would have approved of. He wasn't sure why he expected Merlin to live somewhere cluttered and dark, but he was pleased to find he'd been wrong.

"Come in, I'll be ready in a second."

Arthur opened the door to be faced immediately with a wall of books. Bookshelves covered the walls from floor to ceiling, new spines gleaming beside battered and broken ones. The flat smelled strongly of spices- cumin and garlic and garam masala- with a warmth that seeped in all the way to his bones.

"I've been simmering it for a bit, but you happened to show up right as I was checking it for the last time." Merlin walked out of the kitchen with a smear of red against his lip, his tongue slipping out to catch it. "And thanks for that at work, by the way. The teasing was endless."

"Well, you know, I thought why not since we were going on an official date and all, and I've been wanting to do that for a really long time." Arthur babbled, interrupted mid-thought by a finger against his lips.

"You are going to have to really not take everything I say seriously." Merlin pulled him to the kitchen. "And tell me how much you want because I'm used to cooking for just me."

Everything was set out already on a small table. Arthur sniffed at the dish sitting on another stack of books. "So, I guess you are more than a casual reader?"

"Well, you could say I have a bit of a hoarding problem when it comes to books. But only really, really good ones." Merlin blushed and cleared a bookmarked novel out from a chair. "I learned the hard way that you can't keep everything you read."

"It would be a bit impossible to keep up with, I'm sure."

"Well, yes, but let's get into our bad habits later, shall we?" Merlin flashed him a grin and handed him a plate. "At least all my stuff is clean."

Arthur scooped out the tikka masala, trying to ignore the awkward weight of the room. This couldn't go badly, it just really couldn't.

"Gwaine told me about your sister." Merlin leaned back in his chair, his plate piled high. "Didn't realize you were sibling to the Morgana La Fay."

"I really try not to spread that around. She already has a big head, if she thought I was name-dropping her she'd never let me live it down." Arthur gave a nervous smile. "She's impossible to get rid of once she likes you."

"Gwen certainly thinks so." Merlin twirled his fork into his rice, voice far away as if he was considering something. "Do you like dragons?"

"Um… What?"

"You know, fire breathing, smoke breathed, leather winged dragons? Are you a fan? Do you enjoy a good knight saves the day, dragon loses a few scales, hooray storyline?"

"I guess? I mean, do you?" Arthur felt a blush creep up his cheeks. "I used to read a lot about Camelot when I was a kid, but that was because of the name."

Merlin gave a chuckle and nodded. "Well, ok, I've got something to show you. If you're going to date me, it's best you know now."

Arthur's stomach plummeted. Was Merlin about to reveal that he had some kind of secret figurine collection? Was he dating one of those people with shaky hands and a video camera with a blurry image they swore was actually a living dragon? Was this going to get very weird?

"I'm a dragon."

Arthur waited for Merlin to laugh, squinting at the blue eyed, dark haired man for some sign of humor. When none came, he leaned back and waited. Because obviously, he misheard.

"As in, scaly, monster-y, hoard of gold—or in my case, books—dragon." Merlin lowered his lids, fingers fidgeting on the table.

Arthur swallowed hard, the tikka masala burning down his throat. Right. So he was trying to date a cute, funny crazy man from a coffee shop. He'd dated worse. "So, ok, I just want to be clear here. You think you're a dragon? Like, that you breathe fire and fly and have claws and whatnot?" Arthur tried to keep his voice neutral, but he could tell when Merlin looked up at him that he'd failed.

"Well, obviously I don't have wings to fly, or any claws or anything like that. I'm not like what dragons used to be, exactly." Merlin took a deep breath and pressed his lips together, staring at Arthur.

Arthur flinched when he saw stormy blue turn to shining gold, Merlin's eyes glowing dull in the flickering kitchen light. He bared his teeth, pink lips pulling back against his gums, smoke hissing through the gaps. Merlin's teeth slid open, a burst of orange tinged light spilling forward before spiraling away. By the time he'd finished, his gold eyes were fading back to blue, his fingers tapping a nervous beat against his plate.

"Well, I can certainly say that was unexpected." Arthur coughed, shifting in his seat. "I mean, that certainly explains the smoke thing."

"Are you… Are you seriously still concerned about that?" Merlin's jaw dropped, his eyes wide. "I just told you I'm a dragon, and you're concerned about my non-existant smoking habits?"

"Hey! I'm in medical school for god's sake. I've been learning about lung health for two years straight." Arthur grumbled, waving away the drifting smoke. "Besides, that's not all that impressive. I've seen Gwaine do worse."

Merlin scoffed, shaking his head. "I'll show you worse."

Merlin held up a hand eyes glowing gold once more, fire crackling low against his palm, building and shifting and shimmering until it formed a small red image of a dragon from fairytales.

"Oooh, shaking in my boots." Arthur's pulse was wild, his mind racing over the new information. He was on a date with a dragon. Person. "So, why aren't you covered in scales and big with grisly fangs and all that?"

Merlin lowered his eyelashes, the fire fluttering away from his palm until it disappeared. "Well, my father was a Dragonlord, and his father was a Dragonlord, and we've all been Dragonlords, which basically just means we keep the dragon line going. So you know, we're not like what you'd expect a dragon to be, we just… are… the essence of dragons."

"I must be really into you." Arthur shook his head, scooping another forkful of dinner. "I'm eating vegetarian food and I don't even care that you're a dragon."

"You don't care?" Merlin's lip twitched into a smile. "Like, you're seriously ok with this?"

"I mean, it's not every day I get to date a real life mythical creature." Arthur considered for a moment, chewing slowly. "Better than you having lung cancer or COPD or something. Seriously, not a fan of smoking at all. It was a deal breaker."

Merlin threw back his head and laughed. Arthur thought he saw a few pointed teeth and wondered how he'd not noticed before, but he shrugged it off.

The awkward tension seemed to leak out of the room. Merlin chattered on about his book collection (You literally meant that you hoard books- like gold?) and his new special roast coming up for the winter months and how Lance and Gwaine had once walked in on him cooking dinner with magic because he didn't feel like waiting for the oven. Arthur had shook his head and laughed and told him about Gaius, and all the stories he'd listened to growing up and how Uther had told him that was all fantasies that wouldn't get him anywhere. He talked about playing with Morgana, pretending to be the knight fighting the evil sorceress (Morgana would never be the princess, she was much more interested in fighting.)

By the time they'd looked up at the clock, it was well past midnight. Merlin had stretched, tee shirt riding up to reveal the bottom tip of his tattoo (one day Arthur would find out what the whole thing was) and walked Arthur to the door with a soft smile and big yawn.

"See you tomorrow morning, Princess."

It was Merlin's turn to be bold, to wrap his arms around Arthur's waist and tug him closer and flutter his eyes closed. He kissed gentle into Arthur's mouth and slid his hands flat up Arthur's back. He was warm and buzzing with magic and when Arthur ran his fingers into Merlin's dark hair he was rewarded with being pulled closer.

By the time they parted, they were both a bit red, beaming under yellow light.

"Yeah, whatever Merlin. I'll be there bright and early. Better have my coffee ready." Arthur waved, stepping out of Merlin's arms and rushing down the street to his car.

It wasn't until he'd gotten home that he reached into his pocket and found the USB missing.

There was a message on his phone and he was positive he knew what it was about.

 **A lung health PowerPoint, Princess? Really?**


End file.
